Post-Production Secrets Revealed: Picture Shop on Millie Black (Channel 4)

Picture Shop recently completed audio post-production work on the five-part crime noir drama, Get Millie Black. The show is already available on HBO in the US and is set to premiere on Channel 4 in the UK next year. The production, by Motive Pictures, unfolds in two distinct worlds – London, UK, and Kingston, Jamaica. It follows the story of an ex-Scotland Yard detective who returns to Kingston to work on missing persons cases and becomes entangled in a case that will turn her world upside down. Much of the show was filmed in Kingston, presenting both opportunities and challenges for the sound team led by re-recording mixers Gareth Bull and Gibran Farrah at Picture Shop in London. The team utilized ProTools on an Avid S6 console to mix the audio in 5.1, creating a rich and multilayered soundscape reflective of the diverse locations.

To overcome one of the key sound challenges of maintaining dialogue clarity in bustling urban settings, especially with a mix of patois and regional accents, the team employed noise reduction tools like Hush Pro to salvage location recordings that would have otherwise been unusable. Despite this, there was still a significant amount of technical and creative Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) required, involving main cast members based in both the UK and Kingston.

The cast leads were primarily from the UK and New York, with their ADR sessions held at Picture Shop’s London studios on Lexington St. and in New York, overseen remotely by Picture Shop. As most of the remaining cast was in Jamaica, the sound team collaborated closely with Creative Sounds, a local recording studio in Kingston, to facilitate their ADR sessions. To ensure a smooth workflow, Gareth Farrah and ADR supervisor Kallis Shamaris were sent to Kingston to supervise and record the sessions, using a portable ADR kit developed by Picture Shop’s engineering team that mirrored their London studio setup.

Gena Desclos, EVP of post-production at HBO/Max, praised Picture Shop for delivering an authentic, rich, and vibrant sound for the show, particularly given the unique challenges of working across different locations. Jami O’Brien, the executive producer, commended the team for their professionalism, technical expertise, and creativity in capturing and mixing the show’s complex ADR and local sound elements seamlessly – whether working with the cast in London, New York, or Kingston.